You heard right. Pretty little bastards, aka Japanese beetles, are here for summer vacation, and I'm not happy about it. Those shiny, beautifully iridescent winged marauders ate our plum tree last summer. Thankfully, the plum tree survived, but I wasn't so sure that would happen until it leafed out and bloomed this spring.

In a book about Zen, I once read that plum trees are revered for their hardiness and ability to keep growing under adverse conditions for hundreds of years. I might have misunderstood what I read, and it's possible I misremembered the details. What I wonder is whether the person who wrote that had ever dealt with PLBs? If the PLB is never seen, can it exist? I'd like to find out, please! Ha! I crack myself up, especially since that opportunity is probably never going to present itself in our yard.

This is where I could go into a tirade about bugs and infestations, humidity and heat, all the annoyances of a midwest summer. I won't do that now. I won't bother providing links to all the things I'm getting ready to google and read about Japanese beetles, either. But make no mistake... it's war, and I intend to win if possible. I am going to write about them and their pretty little iridescent bodies, though.

I can't help it. Put it down to respect for the enemy, or insanity, but I think they really are very pretty. The emerald green with all the bronze-ish browns is a gorgeous color palette. Doesn't mean I'm not going to squash them, but I might cop to pausing a second to admire one first. How can you not recognize the beauty in the damnable?

Seriously, those PLBs are not alone in the philosophical quandary they present. Aren't there many things in life that make you pause in awe before you demolish them? I believe it is the grandeur of nature's design, as well as the sheer concentration of energy in some things, that draws my attention. Demolition of anything is not very high on my list, actually. I prefer to live and let live when possible. I'm the person who likes to observe, but not intrude or interfere, with nature as much as possible.

Possible. Possible. "When possible." "As much as possible." Why do I keep repeating that, if not to pump up my confidence/righteousness for the coming battle? Yeah, I imagine that's part of it. I am not above squashing a bug, but I've been trying to mold myself into a kinder person...